Beer turning out to dark

[ckelly999]

Greetings All,

I'm a long time brewer, I've been running across a problem lately that I'd like to try to get some help on.

I've been brewing some of the lighter styles (referring to color) lately, and these beers typically come out a lot darker than I have been expecting. I did a Hefeweizen a few weeks back, and I just finished Czech Pilsener today; both came out far too dark considering the ingredients I used (both were all grains).

I've been trying to address possible causes one by one, and the only possibility I can come up with is my burner- it's one of the high-pressure jet models, I'm able to throttle it down enough to keep a gently rolling boil going.

My question: would a jet burner- even throttled back- be more prone to scorching and caramelizing the wort than a banjo burner would? The jet burner would tend to concentrate its heat over a smaller area, but I thought the circulation within the pot would prevent any scorching, maybe I'm wrong? Anyone else experiencing this? Any suggestions on other possible causes?

Thanks for any and all responses.

CK

 

[smccarter]

It'll be your ingredients. You need to take a look at the grain you're using.

Otherwise though, how has the beer tasted? I say.... if the beer tastes good and gives me a buzz... who cares if it's a little darker, or lighter for that matter, than I wanted it to be.

 

[ckelly999]

My Hefe (7 gal) was 8 lbs of wheat malt and 4 lbs of Pilsener malt, whole German Hallertau hops for bittering; my Czech Pilsener (5 gal) was 10 lbs Pilsener, 2 oz Munich, and 8 oz Carapils, Czech Saaz hops throughout the boil.

My water is local bottled water, should I check the alkalinity?

 

[clickondan]

Yes on checking the alkalinity. I've had the same recipe produce beers with noticeably different SRM with only the mash water profile (and probably hops) changing between them. Granted, they weren't controlled experiements but I was surprised by this. I tend to think the jet burner could be another factor. Even if just the hot surface at the bottom of the kettle has more than typical heat energy, that's probably enough for darkening reactions to happen quicker than average.

 

[Talgrath]

My Hefe (7 gal) was 8 lbs of wheat malt and 4 lbs of Pilsener malt, whole German Hallertau hops for bittering; my Czech Pilsener (5 gal) was 10 lbs Pilsener, 2 oz Munich, and 8 oz Carapils, Czech Saaz hops throughout the boil.

My water is local bottled water, should I check the alkalinity?

Was it 7 gallons pre boil? That seems like an awful lot of grain for a hefeweizen.

 

[chickypad]

I would definitely consider a water/pH issue, are you monitoring mash pH? See the info on Kai's site regarding mash pH and maillard reactions. Even with my low alkalinity water I usually need a little acid malt on all base malt grainbills to bring the pH down to range.

 

[ckelly999]

Was it 7 gallons pre boil? That seems like an awful lot of grain for a hefeweizen.

It was a 7-gallon batch; enough to fill my 36 24-oz bottles.

 

[Talgrath]

It was a 7-gallon batch; enough to fill my 36 24-oz bottles.

Okay then, yeah, that makes more sense. I'd agree with the other folks in this thread, probably water chemistry. I'd get your water's info and then run it through a brewing calculator.